Cubicle life looms large in pop culture

Thursday

Oct 30, 2008 at 12:01 AM

By PATRICK PEMBERTON McClatchy Newspapers

There is a reason why people buy red staplers, Dwight Schrute bobbleheads and stuffed Dilberts: It's because many Americans are disenchanted with their jobs, and those items - pop culture icons that symbolize the worst in office culture - affirm that others view the workplace with the same disregard.

"I think it helps people to know they are not alone in their frustrations," said Scott Adams, who created his "Dilbert" comic strip nearly two decades ago.

In a sense, then, pop culture has become therapeutic for the disheartened American worker. And although many books - think anything by Kafka - and movies ("Fight Club") have dealt with jobs that can suck the life out of their employees, three sources have stood out as the ultimate symbols for everything wrong about the office: "Dilbert"; the movie "Office Space"; and the TV show "The Office," whose fifth season premiered Sept. 25.

"Dilbert," of course, started it all. In 1989, Adams debuted his strip about an engineer who deals daily with the frustrations of his workplace. It was a huge success, prompting readers to buy stuffed dolls, calendars and books.

"People like to see me mock the things they can't mock themselves without losing their job," Adams said in an e-mail interview. "I am sort of a surrogate voice for them."

"Office Space," a cult favorite from 1999, features a trio of software employees trying to fight back against impending layoffs and a numbing office environment. As film critic Roger Ebert wrote, the movie is about work that crushes the spirit: "Office cubicles are cells; supervisors are the wardens; and modern management theory is skewed to employ as many managers and as few workers as possible."

"The Office" takes place in a Pennsylvania paper company, where workers confront the boss' boneheaded decisions - and the awkward scenarios they foster - on a daily basis.

As bad as popular culture makes it seem, though, the American office really isn't so horrible, said John Gannon, a Pismo Beach, Calif., psychologist who deals with work issues. "Ninety percent of American business is doing what you need to do every day, and it's working pretty well," he said.

Still, the small frustrations at the office are often seen as a microcosm for what's wrong with the business world, which now is getting bad reviews with news about outsourcing, bank collapses and high CEO salaries.

With all that in mind, we decided to look at how the office is viewed by the Big Three - "Dilbert," "The Office" and "Office Space."

Office environment

Dilbert calls his workplace The Land of Cubicles, where workers file into a maze of partitions. Artwork comes from low-cost Dogbert Corporate Art Source, which boasts the motto: "If it's in a frame, it will look like art to you."

? In "Office Space," the mostly windowless Initech building is also filled with cubicles.

? Although the cubicles in "Dilbert" and "Office Space" belong to lower-end workers, "The Office's" Michael Scott has a room with window blinds that allow him to hide from employees when he makes unpopular decisions.

Employee view of work

In the Big Three, no one wants to be at the office.

? In "The Office," Jim Halpert resists promotion, saying, "Because right now, this is a job. If I advance any higher, this would be my career. And if this were my career, I'd have to throw myself in front of a train."

? In "Office Space," Peter Gibbons is even less positive. As he tells his therapist: "Ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life."

? In "Dilbert," it's Dogbert who acts as the therapist, telling Dilbert, "You suffer from the dull ache of insignificance."

Management

In short, the Big Three view managers as clueless schmucks who couldn't make an important decision if their lives depended on it.

? In "Office Space," Bill Lumbergh is a condescending boss who has no life outside the office. When faced with a difficult task - such as firing an employee named Milton Waddams - he has someone else do it.

? Michael Scott, meanwhile, is ignorant of the fact that none of his employees respect him. He owns a "World's Best Boss" mug he bought for himself.

? Dilbert's "pointy-headed boss," meanwhile, is a micromanager who doesn't listen to employees. In one meeting, the boss announces, "That's the plan. Now I will listen to your irrational concerns," before putting headphones on.

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